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TORONTO — Auston Matthews said he is ready to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.The question is whether the team’s medical staff will clear him in time for the game against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena or wait until Saturday when the Maple Leafs visit the Minnesota Wild.The Maple Leafs did not play Tuesday while the Sharks were in Buffalo Calgary Flames Hoodies Womens , where they lost 3-2 in overtime to the surging Sabres, who won their 10th straight.Article continues below ...It was the second straight loss for the Sharks, who dropped a 6-0 decision on the road to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.Joe Pavelski scored twice in the final nine minutes for the Sharks on Tuesday and leads the team with 15 goals.As for the Maple Leafs, Matthews has missed 14 games since Oct. 27 after he injured his shoulder in a collision with Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba.“In my mind, I feel ready to play (Wednesday),” Matthews said Tuesday after his first practice with contact. “The guys took it easy on me for the most part, but just in those battle drills and competing and stuff, everything felt good.”Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said final clearance for Matthews would not come until it is discussed with athletic therapist Paul Ayotte.The 21-year-old center has 10 goals and six assists in 11 games this season.“He looked fine out there (Tuesday) so we’ll see how he is,” Babcock said.The Maple Leafs (17-8-0)are 9-5-0 this season without Matthews, including a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins Monday night. The Maple Leafs have won five straight home games.“It’s never about one player, it’s about the team,” Babcock said. “We have a good leadership and the guys have worked hard most nights. We’ve had a tough schedule.”Mitch Marner has been playing particularly well. He had three assists against the Bruins on Monday and has six goals and 27 assists in 25 games.At times, it has looked as though Marner is playing a different game than the other players at times.“I think that’s what you think with all good players, is it not?” Babcock said. “I think Calgary Flames Hats Womens , if you’re watching (Boston), I think you think when (David Pastrnak) gets the puck and he’s playing a different game than everybody else too.“What’s amazing is most of us have no time and space whatsoever. We’re banging it here and banging it there and chasing it. Then the really good guys seem to have all the time in the world and that’s what you’re talking about. That’s why they’re just gliding all over the rink and it’s seems effortless and it seems like fun and they have the puck all the time and you can’t figure out why. They’re just better than everybody else.”The Sharks (12-8-5) are 4-5-3 on the road. They are considered somewhat of a disappointment so far this season.“We’ll find it,” said backup goaltender Aaron Dell, who could get the start Wednesday after Martin Jones got the call Tuesday. “It’s coming more and more. We were a little too offensive-minded to start and then we went polar opposite for a while and tried to play too much defense. Now, we’re going back and forth trying to find that middle. A little more time and we should be able to get that perfected and we’ll be a tough team to beat.”The Maple Leafs beat the Sharks 5-3 in San Jose on Nov. 15.“I get the frustration,” Sharks defenseman Joakim Ryan told the San Jose Mercury News. “It’s natural for a fan base. Everyone in here grew up being a fan and you’re (upset) when the team loses. That’s what you should expect. It’s completely understandable. It’s frustrating when you’re not consistent. We could be doing a lot better. But considering how it’s gone, we’re still in a good spot.”“We still have a lot of the same core guys, but some of the new guys that have come in are pretty important pieces,” San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “We know we’re a good team and we know we’re going to be a great team.” Ken Holland once transitioned the Detroit Red Wings from Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and that generation of greats to the one that followed with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Now he’s trying to do it again.The veteran general manager knows it won’t be as easy this time, so he’s adding and keeping some older players to bridge the gap. On Sunday , the Red Wings signed 34-year-old winger Thomas Vanek and 29-year-old goaltender Jonathan Bernier and re-signed 32-year-old defenseman Mike Green.Vanek signed a $3 million, one-year deal, Bernier got $3 million per season on a three-year deal and Green will make $5.375 million annually over the next two years as part of a series of transitional deals for the rebuilding Red Wings.”It’s going to take a little bit of time Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys , we have to have some patience,” Holland said. ”I believe we’re headed in the right direction. In the short term, trying to bring in some veteran players obviously to mentor, to role-model the young kids. We need to be competitive. It’s important to develop players if they’re in an environment that’s positive and we go into every game we have a chance to win and we’re trying to obviously juggle having veterans on the roster and moving young players into the roster.”Vanek enjoyed his 48 games with the Red Wings in 2016-17 so much he wanted to return last summer, but they didn’t have the salary-cap space. He’s not the prolific scorer he was a decade ago, but Vanek was in demand after putting up 15 points in 19 regular-season games with the Blue Jackets as a trade-deadline pickup.”We had a few options, but Detroit, ever since I’ve been there, I loved it,” Vanek said. ”I really liked the whole culture of the organization and the guys were great.”As a right-shot defender who can run a power play, Green would’ve drawn serious interest if he became an unrestricted free agent. He never seriously considered leaving.With the neck injury that cut his season short has healed, he wanted to remain with the Red Wings and help bring along the next generation.”There’s a lot that weighed on my decision to stay,” Green said. ”I think it’s easy sometimes just to go somewhere else, especially with the transition that’s going on there in Detroit www.hurricanesshoponline.com , but I feel like I can be useful in the next couple years kind of helping the younger guys develop quicker and speed up that process.”Having better goaltending might not speed up the process, but it’ll make the Red Wings more competitive. They think they’ll get that from Bernier, who was the odd man out in Colorado and will split duties in net with Jimmy Howard.”We’re going to push each other to bring this team back to the playoffs,” Bernier said. ”I didn’t want to be in a position where I played 15, 20 games. I want to come in and have a chance to play as much as possible obviously depending on play. I just thought it was a great opportunity that me and Jimmy can battle for our games.”Holland isn’t worried about clogging the roster up for young players. Sixth overall pick Filip Zadina should be able to play right away up front, and the Red Wings have begun to rebuild their prospect pipeline.One immediate problem could be the health of captain Henrik Zetterberg, who has been hampered by back problems and is no sure bet to be able to play next season. Zetterberg, who turns 38 in October, cast doubts on his future after the season, and Holland can’t say with any certainty what will happen with the Swedish center.”Last I talked to him, I think he’s planning on playing,” Holland said. ”Obviously his back is going to determine whether he can or he can’t. … When you’re dealing with the back and you’re dealing with the health of a person, it’s hard to read the future when it comes to health. Obviously that’s a key piece for us. I’ll stay in touch with Henrik as we get into July to see how his health is.”—AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed.—